The Faint Fuzzy
The Official Newsletter of the West Kentucky Amateur Astronomers
April 2009
© WKAA 2009
UPCOMING MEETING
The next meeting will
be April 25th. The
meeting starts at 7pm,
with observing
afterwards if it is
clear. Visitors (as
always) are welcome.
NOTE: Some Club
Members plan to
gather early (3:00pm
or so) to clean up the
observatory for
Astronomy Day. Join
us if you can!
From the Editors:
It was nice to be back at the Golden Pond Observatory and Planetarium
for our annual potluck dinner and election meeting. Once again, WKAA
members were treated to a wonderful communal meal, and ended the
evening with an excellent new planetarium show and a brief observing
session. The view is a little different on the field, thanks to Mother
Nature’s ice storm “pruning” of surrounding trees.
This Saturday’s meeting is our last chance to get together and make
final plans for Astronomy Day the following Saturday. Please plan to
attend both the meeting and the event and show your continued support
for WKAA, LBLA, and the International Year of Astronomy!
– Bob & Melissa
LAST MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
• Tennessee Spring Star
Party
After another legendary potluck dinner, we headed to the Golden Pond
Planetarium at the invitation of Don Partain, and Club President Dale
Baltimore called the meeting to order. Twenty-seven people attended
the meeting, including newcomers Dennis and Teresa Ingle and their
two children. They are originally from Seattle and are now living in
Cadiz, KY. Welcome, Ingles! And welcome to a new WKAA member,
Mary Wilson from Paducah, KY!
• Sidewalk Astronomy
Election Results
IN THIS ISSUE
Last Meeting Highlights
Upcoming Events
Astronomedia
• OPT Rewards Club
In response to a member’s question, Dale reiterated that absentee
ballots and proxy voting is not allowed, according to club bylaws.
• Back Issues of Deep
Sky and TelescopeMaking Magazines
John Holland announced the slate of candidates. He and Dale then
conducted the elections. All incumbent officers were re-elected:
Of Marbles and Light
Years
Celestial Highlights
• Saturn’s Rings
• Talk to the Hand!
Club Membership and
Resources
• Club Officers
iiiii
Dale Baltimore–President
Jim Phfistner–Vice President
Bob and Melissa Vickers–Co-Secretaries
David Paessler–Treasurer, ALCOR coordinator, Star Party Chair
Bill Kassebaum–Assistant Star Party Chair (appointed)
John and Dale thanked all the officers for past service and willingness
to continue. Dale also thanked John for his help with the election and
his work on the club website.
April 2009
The Faint Fuzzy
Page 2
Newsletter
Bob Vickers thanked Sonya Wood-Mahler for her articles in the March
issue, and made a request for more articles from any club member who
wants to write for the newsletter. He also mentioned that Bill Brockman
had submitted an article and images that didn’t make it into the March
issue, but are in this issue. (see below)
ALCOR/Treasurer’s Report
David Paessler gave the ALCOR report, noting that two certificates are
pending–the Outreach Certificate for Bob Vickers and the Binocular
Messier Certificate for Jim Phfistner. David has attached wooden strips
to our wall to allow for more certificates and better of use of space. Dale
thanked David for his work.
David reported that the club’s treasury is still in good shape.
Membership fees are now due and payable. See David.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tennessee Spring
Star Party
Join the Cumberland
Astronomical Society for
their spring party, April
24-26, at Fall Creek
Falls State Park near
McMinnville, TN. See
their website for further
information.
Sidewalk Astronomy
Program, Dawson
Springs, KY
Some club members
will be setting up their
scopes on Friday night,
May 1st, for the 8pm
kickoff of the town’s
seasonal “First Friday”
event. Food vendors will
possibly be there. Come
join us. Mars and
Saturn will be
spectacular to observe.
If it is cloudy, we will not
be setting up to
observe.
Astronomy Day: Saturday, May 2nd, 10am-4pm
Jim Phfistner and Sonya Wood-Mahler are co-chairing Astronomy Day
at Golden Pond and have lots of activities planned. In addition, Don
Partain will have planetarium shows at 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, and
3pm. If the weather is clear that evening, some members may stay to
do some early evening viewing.
Galileo is slated to make a special appearance this year. He bears a
striking resemblance to our own Jim Phfistner!
Three things make for a great Astronomy Day–Good weather, good
crowds, and lots of help from WKAA club members. Your help–even for
just part of the day–will be greatly appreciated!
International Year of Astronomy (IYA)
Sonya gave an update on IYA. One of the celebration’s goals is to have
10 million people look through telescopes throughout the year. WKAA
will do its part through the Astronomy Day and Summer Nights
programs. Don mentioned that they keep track of the number of people
who attend these events.
The latest Reflector has information about certificates available through
the Astronomical League website for anyone who takes a first look
through a telescope. Club members talked about possibly providing
these certificates at our public events.
Another idea discussed was for club members to speak on astronomy
at local schools, and possibly coming up with materials for teachers to
use. Art Pallone said he would be interested in helping. If this interests
you, please contact Art.
Art Pallone and Jacque Day offered to help get the word out to local
media about any astronomical events the club or individuals are doing.
The Faint Fuzzy
April 2009
ASTRONOMEDIA
•
OPT Rewards Club
As a member of WKAA
you are entitled to a free
Oceanside Photo &
Telescope (OPT)
Rewards Club card for
savings on astronomical
purchases. WKAA just
received a free 5x Barlow
lens through this program.
Thanks to Dale for
pointing this out!
Page 3
Summer Nights
Summer Nights begin Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, and run
through August 29th. Dale thanked Harold Meyers for agreeing once
again to coordinate volunteers. Dale pointed out that it is especially
important to have club members signed up for the nights in between
meeting nights. Look for opportunities to sign up soon!
Dale turned the meeting over to Don, who thanked everybody for their
Summer Nights help last year. He reminded club members that anyone
who will be volunteering for Land Between the Lakes Association
programs needs to sign a yearly insurance form. Contact Don to do this.
Carol Baltimore asked Don to give a brief description of Summer Nights
for the newcomers, and Don happily obliged.
Observing at Golden Pond on Non-Meeting Nights
•
Back Issues of Deep
Sky and TelescopeMaking Magazines
Astronomy Magazine’s
website is selling old
issues of Deep Sky and
Telescope-Making for
$3.95 each. Thanks to
Dale for pointing this one
out, too!
iiii
Somedays Cayo Loco
shimmers
Like the stars up in the
sky
And the seabirds they do
touch and gos
As the world just tangos
by.
Still I search the
constellations
And the tiny grains of
sand
Where the song of the
ocean
Meets a salty piece of
land.
from
“A Salty Piece of Land”
by Jimmy Buffett
Don said that if people are interested in observing on the field when
meetings or programs are not occurring, it is important to let Don or Al
know ahead of time so they can alert Security. Club members who bring
non-members to the field are responsible for their actions. If you are on
the field and a security officer comes up, say you are with WKAA.
Night Sky Network
Sonya brought up the “Night Sky Network” as mentioned in last month’s
Faint Fuzzy as a possible source of activities and club promotion. She
and Harold have volunteered to be co-chairs to represent the club with
this organization. Membership is free. Dale said it sounded good and
that the Officers would evaluate it and make a decision about whether
to do it.
Earth Hour
Dale adjourned the meeting and club members celebrated Earth Hour
by sitting together in the dark and enjoying the newest planetarium
show, “Journey to the Edge of Space and Time.” Thanks, Don!
There was limited viewing after the show, but clouds rolled in soon
thereafter.
Of Marbles and Light Years
By Bill Brockman
Almost everyone knows that a light year is the distance light travels in a
year. Some have learned that this distance is approximately 6 trillion
miles. It’s one thing to know how far a light year is, but another thing
entirely to understand the distance of a light year. The problem is the
human mind can’t grasp the magnitude of so many miles.
The actual distance of a light year is 5.878 trillion miles. It would help if
we had a better frame of reference for comparison, and I suggest we
use a humble ½ inch marble to help visualize.
Our Sun has a diameter of 865,000 miles. If we imagine that a ½ inch
April 2009
The Faint Fuzzy
Page 4
marble is the Sun, then we have a more manageable frame of reference for understanding the
distance of a light year. At the scale of ½ inch = 865,000 miles, the earth would be a speck of dust
53.6 inches away. It just so happens that a light year works out to be 53.6 miles away. (a very odd
coincidence)
The binary star Alpha Centauri AB is the
closest star system to our solar system
and lies 4.37 light years away in the
constellation Centaurus. This distance on
the marble scale works out to be 234
miles and would be like holding a marble
in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a couple of
marbles at Paducah, Kentucky.
The star Vega is a bright magnitude 0.0
star in the constellation Lyra. This star is
a mere 25 light years away. Using our
marble scale, the distance works out to be
1340 miles, which is roughly the distance
from New York City to Dallas, Texas, or
from Golden Pond, Kentucky, to Phoenix,
Arizona. It’s hard for me to imagine being
able to see a glowing marble from that
distance. Most of the stars we see in the
night sky are hundreds of light years
away. Many stars are thousands of light years distant. I can’t imagine a marble at Paducah, Kentucky
being gravitationally bound to another marble in St. Louis, Missouri.
This helps us understand why galaxies that collide simply pass through each other. If a marble in
Paducah and another marble in Cincinnati are considered to be in close proximity, I can see why
there would be little chance of stellar collisions.
Sort of makes a person have a lot more respect for marbles!
Here’s another one of Bill’s
beautiful astro-images, this one
of NGC 2339.
April 2009
The Faint Fuzzy
Page 5
CLUB OFFICERS
CELESTIAL HIGHLIGHTS
President: Dale
Baltim ore— Paducah, KY;
270-554-6603;
w.daleb[@ ]com cast.net
The rings of Saturn are tilted at about 4 degrees from edgewise now.
After May they will slowly start to close again until they reach 0 degrees
by early September. This is a good time to look for Saturn’s moons, the
shadow of Titan on Saturn, and the planet’s cloud patterns.
Vice President: Jim
Phfistner— Hardin, KY;
270-354-6860;
phfistners[@ ]gm ail.com
Talk to the Hand!
NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory image of Pulsar
B1509-58. The nebula
surrounding the pulsar
spans 150 light years, is
17,000 light years away, and
1700 years old.
Treasurer/Astronom ical
League Coordinator: David
Paessler— Kevil, KY;
270-488-3784;
dcpaessler[@ ]yahoo.com
Secretary: Bob & Melissa
Vickers— Huntingdon, TN;
731-986-3082;
Vickers[@ ]aeneas.net
Credit:
NASA/CXC/SAO/P.Slane, et
al.
Star Party Coordinator:
David Paessler—Kevil, KY;
270-488-3784;
dcpaessler[@ ]yahoo.com
Assistant Star Party
Coordinator: Bill
Kassebaum ; Paducah,
KY/Key W est, FL;
ngc1952[@ ]bellsouth.net
CLUB MEMBERSHIP AND RESOURCES
Club Membership
W ebsite:
John Holland, Hopkinsville,
KY; yojohnjohn1001
[@ ]gm ail.com
Club membership is $25 for an individual or family, which allows one
member to earn Observing Club certificates through the Astronomical
League. Additional family members who also want to earn certificates
can pay an additional $5. Contact David Paessler if you have questions.
John McCubbin,
Hopkinsville, KY;
m ccubbin.astronom y
[@ ]gm ail.com
Club membership fees are due in March each year.
i
Loaner Scopes/Imager
The club has two Dobsonians (6”, 8”) and a Meade Deep Sky Imager
available for club members to borrow. Anyone who has been a club
member for six months, completes a training/safety session, and signs
a written agreement may borrow one of the scopes or the imager.
Library
The club has several books and magazines available to members for
reference or checkout. Take a look and see what we have at the next
club meeting.
Magazine Discounts
Club members who subscribe to Sky & Telescope or Astronomy
magazines through the club receive a discount! Annually you can save
$10 on Sky & Telescope and $9 on Astronomy. Contact David Paessler
for more information.